Chapter 1.5 < | >
It seems like forever since mom has been gone... but it's just been a couple days. After our mourning period was over, I decided that I should be the one to carry on her journal, even though Alton is the "heir"... because, well.. I'm the writer, and he shows no interest in it. We all have missed mom terribly. Dad won't even sleep in his own bed, and took to sleeping in our room, leaving the master bedroom for Alton.
Alton had taken over the family cooking because someone had to do it, and he was the one with the skill to not burn the place down with. After the one fire we've had, we want to be more careful with that. He also finished the body builder skill challenge, and no longer is fatigued after strength workouts.
Dad got to logic skill 9, which should help him with work, and we survived some more teenage mood swings. I skilled up in writing as well, and finished my fourth book.
Today - Sunday - is Alton's young adult birthday. We went ahead and celebrated to take our minds off mom - plus birthday cake was a nice change for dinner.
Due to Alton's failing high school (mostly because of him not being allowed to go to high school for most of his teenage days), he picked up the neurotic trait. His first action as an adult was to get a job with the local criminals, something he's been wanting to do since he first saw them coming to take away our money on a Monday. He's convinced that if he becomes a master thief, he can change the employment restrictions in the area. I'm not so sure, but we'll play along with him for now. At least he's working instead of staying home and working on his athletic skill all the time.
On Monday, Alton spent most of the afternoon getting to be friends with his boss, trying to get on his good side. I commented that I wasn't sure his boss HAD a good side, and Alton just laughed at me.
I learned Charisma today, and after school, met some new people out in the park after school. I'm going to need charisma and friends to get the word out about our poor town when I grow up.
We all spend a lot of time on our skills - me writing, dad playing chess, and Alton working out. It makes for spectacularly boring journal writing.
Oh! Alton has been working on building us a basement, bit by bit. We can't buy the whole thing at once due to regulations, so a little bit at a time, it's coming together. As of now, it's big enough for the stairs to go down into it to be in place, but not much more. Why we need a basement, I don't know, but Alton seems to think it's very important.
On Wednesday, Alton got a promotion to cutpurse, and seemed very proud of himself. He also came home from work sick, and is glad to have the next couple days off. Being sick didn't seem to slow him down much, and he finally mastered the Athletic skill. I spent the evening watching Television (during the few hours a day that programming is actually on instead of just "snow".)
Thursday was supposed to be my prom, but somehow, it got cancelled again. Dad tells me it's because of the local Entertainment committee that keeps vetoing things, and that there's nothing he can do about it.
Friday, I caught Alton's cold, but, taking a page from Alton's book, I didn't let it stop me from finishing my fifth book. I'm finally starting to bring in some income with my writing. I swear I felt mom wandering around the house last night, but Alton told me not to even think it. He's been very chipper lately, and I don't think he wants to think about her anymore. I've noticed him paying attention to the crib and toddler books, as if making sure they're all in readiness... for what, I don't know.
Saturday was Snowflake Day, and both Alton and Dad for their holiday bonuses (not that it's going to do us very much good with losing all our money on Mondays!) Dad's was over 11,000 simoleons, and Alton's was around 1,500.
Sunday, Dad finally mastered logic, and was able to take a break from playing chess. He helped me out with my homework, and puttered around cleaning the house - which desperately needed it. Alton announced he was planning on getting married tomorrow, much to our surprise. He did mention he hadn't yet talked to Allison about it, but was sure she would be okay with it. I don't mind him marrying Allison, she and I are pretty good friends.. and I'm pretty sure Alton is right about her being okay about marrying him.
Monday was Alton's big day, and he seemed very nervous. He has to work at night now, so he planned on inviting her over in the early afternoon, leaving enough time for a small private wedding. He already had most of the paperwork for it all filled out.
His plans went off well, and before the evening was over, Allison had brought her things over to move in. What a crazy couple of weeks it has been!
(Oh.. Allison is virtuoso, artistic, grumpy, coward, and computer whiz.)
Chapter 1.5 < | >
